Questions from Oregon Business Plan leadership summit

[leavengs]

Below are the questions submitted by participants at the roundtable discussion during the Oregon Business Plan's Oregon Leadership Summit in Portland on December 3rd, 2007:

1. Would there be an advantage to move away from "green" or "sustainable" and instead jointly promote high performance (e.g., lower utility bills) and healthy homes built with sustainable (e.g., wood) products harvested as a renewable resource?
2. I don't hear/ read about economic & social sustainability of our rural communities.  Why?
3. For the State Board of Forestry representatives:  Washington is moving forward on FSC certification on a forest in the Olympic peninsula area.  When will Oregon look at certifying its state forests to either FSC or SFI?
4. What would it take to have compliance of the Oregon Forest Practices Act serve as the certification system?
5. National climate change policy is coming; if Oregon steps up as an early adopter in the Western Climate Initiative, we can put some stakes in the ground to shape national policy.  So - what are some of those carbon policy elements that green builders and forest industry folks can agree on that will advance Oregon's sustainability competitive advantage?
6. Has the panel discussed specific tax reduction incentives to support sustainable practices, and commensurate replacement revenue mechanisms?
7. Why is LEEDs pro-steel and anti-wood?  Why is LEEDs anti-SFI?
8. What is potential for green building value-added wood products as a competitive strategy for sustainability?
9. Why just wood?  Forestland provides a lot of services (water, carbon, etc.).  The kind of wood demanded by green building creates these products that can be sold.